Ian Kennedy

When Kennedy was with Arizona, the idea of him going to Petco Park full time would have been a dream. He put up a 3.55 ERA in 624 innings with the Diamondbacks through 2012 and his 1.1 HR/9 kept him f...

Upon his arrival in San Diego at the 2013 trade deadline, Kennedy’s woes with the Diamondbacks extended to his new club, but he turned over a new leaf in his first full season with the Padres, reestablishing himself as a strikeout king. He concluded the year with the first 200-punchout campaign of his career - 207, to be exact, matching Zack Greinke for 11th-most in MLB - which he supplemented with a 13-13 record, 3.63 ERA, and 1.29 WHIP in 201 innings (33 starts). Surprisingly, taking the mound half of the time in Petco Park wasn’t the catalyst for a career-best 0.7 HR/9, as Kennedy served up 10 long balls in 100.2 innings at home. In any case, he’ll again team with fellow starters Andrew Cashner and Tyson Ross following a season in which the Padres’ rotation recorded a 3.55 ERA, good for ninth-best in the majors.

2014

Just two seasons removed from consideration for the National League Cy Young award, Kennedy's walk and strikeout rates had reversed course to career worsts in his four years as a full-time starter -- 7.8 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 -- before the Diamondbacks dealt the righty to San Diego at the July 31 trade deadline. Both marks actually bumped up with his new squad, but an exchange of the launching pad that is Chase Field for cavernous Petco Park resulted in a fair 4.24 ERA in 57.1 innings (10 starts) as a Padre. Considering his career line in the latter venue -- 90:27 K:BB ratio and .198 BAA in 71 frames -- a bounce-back campaign could be in the offing for the 29-year-old.

2013

Although Kennedy was able to carry similar peripherals to his breakout 2011 season (8.1 K/9, 2.4 BB/9), the results included an ERA that was more than a run higher and a home-run rate that swung back to his 2010 level (1.2 HR/9). A closer look at Kennedy's arsenal reveals that opposing hitters made more powerful contact against three of his four pitches, including his four-seam fastball (.291 BAA, .511 SLGA). Pitching half of his games at Chase Field, Kennedy's flyball tendencies will be more damaging than they would be elsewhere, but his walk rate appears to have stabilized at a strong enough point where the 2012 line is a baseline for his overall performance going forward.

2012

Kennedy made strides in his second full season with the D-Backs and solidified his place as the ace of the team's rotation. In addition to pushing his strikeout rate to 8.0 K/9IP, Kennedy's control improved to his Triple-A levels from 2008. Don't expect him to consistently maintain a sub-3.00 ERA while pitching half of his games at Chase Field, but Kennedy has a five-pitch arsenal including a very good two-seam fastball that mitigates some of the risk he presents as a flyball pitcher. The growth he showed in 2011 is largely sustainable as even a regression back toward his 2010 home-run rate (1.2 HR/9IP) will yield limited fallout since he's proven capable of missing bats a good clip and limiting the free passes.

2011

Of the D-Backs starters that were on the roster from April through October, Kennedy was the most consistent from start to finish. The Yankees were never willing to give him a legitimate chance to stick in their rotation, but he survived his first full big league campaign at age 25 and surprisingly racked up 194 innings over 32 starts after a shoulder aneurysm limited him to 23.2 innings in 2009. Kennedy missed enough bats (7.8 K/9IP) to survive serving up 26 long balls and issuing his fair share of free passes (3.3 BB/9IP). If you look closely, a .265 BABIP reveals at least some good fortune behind the sub-4.00 ERA and it's easy to see where his 4.33 FIP might be more telling of what to expect in his second season with Arizona, but there were signs of growth in the second half including a drop in home-run rate (0.76 HR/9IP) and fewer walks (3.1 BB/9IP).

2010

An aneurysm in his shoulder cost Kennedy most of the 2009 season, but he recovered in plenty of time for the Arizona Fall League, where he racked up a 28:5 K:BB ratio in 29.2 innings and gave up just one home run. Couple that with his career Triple-A numbers (2.14 ERA, 131 strikeouts in 126.1 innings) and you'll understand why the D-Backs coveted him when they were a part of the three-team trade that also brought Edwin Jackson to the desert in December. Kennedy is expected to take over the No. 4 starter spot for his new team.

2009

Kennedy had an opportunity to stake a permanent claim for a rotation spot with the Yankees when the team was ravaged by injuries last season, but a strained lat knocked him out of action from late May until early August, and he didn't pitch well enough around the injury to stick when he was finally healthy for good later in the year. After being demoted back to Triple-A, Kennedy was very sharp while he finished with a 72:17 K:BB ratio over 69 innings there. The Yankees' offseason free-agent spending binge seems to suggest that Kennedy might be traded to another organization, which would likely provide a much faster track to the majors. Keeper league owners should patiently wait for the change of scenery to take place.

2008

Kennedy made a meteoric rise from High-A to the majors in 2007, overshadowed by the dominance of fellow prospect Joba Chamberlain who made the same leap even faster. Kennedy didn't make the Yankees' postseason roster because of a late-season back ailment, but in his three big league starts, he showed considerable poise in high-pressure situations with the Yankees chasing down a playoff berth in September. It's possible that a numbers crunch will bump Kennedy back to Triple-A to start the season, but look for him to spend most of his season in New York, especially if Chamberlain stays in the bullpen.